Mumbai '48 Hour Film Project' to begin Friday

Mumbai, Nov 11 (IANS) An international filmmaking competition, where filmmakers are required to make a movie in 48 hours, is set to begin its Mumbai leg Friday.

Called the Mumbai 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP), the competition will see teams getting the genres Friday and would have to return on Sunday with their fully finished film scripted, shot, edited and scored over the weekend.

Over 800 filmmakers have signed up from across the country - Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune among others.

Among the film personalities supporting the event as jury members are Amol Palekar, Nagesh Kukunoor, Dolly Thakore, R. Balakrishnan, Paromita Vohra, Shimit Amin, Manish Jha and Niranjan Iyengar.

'The 48-hour format is a great precursor to the real world of filmmaking which is fraught with ridiculous deadlines, a ton of pressure from all sides but pure unadulterated fun! I'm looking forward to some crazy creativity!' said Kukunoor in a statement.

The team that wins the Best Film-Mumbai accolade, will become a contender for the Best International Film competition. Mumbai's Best Film will also be screened at the Miami International Film Festival 2011.

A total of 10 Best Films from the world over will then be screened at the Cannes 2011 Film Festival's Short Film Corner. The 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa will also screen the top films from the competition in Mumbai.

The genres that will be allotted include comedy, drama, fantasy, film de femme, film noir, horror, mockumentary, musical or western, road movie, romance, sci fi, silent film and thriller/suspense.

But the real challenge is that every film has to incorporate three elements- a line of dialogue, a prop and a character - which are decided on the spot at the Kick Off.